What percentage of cocaine seized in the US is traced to Venezuela in 2024-2025?
Executive summary
Available reporting does not give a single, authoritative percentage for “what share of cocaine seized in the US is traced to Venezuela in 2024–2025.” Major U.S. and international reports cited in the available sources instead attribute the vast majority of U.S.-bound cocaine to Colombia (around 80–90%) and do not list Venezuela as a primary source or corridor for cocaine reaching the United States [1] [2] [3]. Independent analyses and Venezuelan government statements emphasize seizures and transit through Venezuelan territory but do not translate into a clear U.S.-seized share tied to Venezuela in 2024–2025 [4] [5] [6].
1. No single figure in available reporting — the missing statistic
None of the supplied sources gives a direct, sourced percentage that says “X% of cocaine seized in the U.S. in 2024–2025 was traced to Venezuela.” U.S. government fact-sheets and reporting cited here point to Colombia as the dominant source for cocaine reaching the United States (e.g., 84% or 90%), and those documents do not list Venezuela as a major origin for U.S.-seized cocaine [1] [2] [3]. Transparency-focused and Venezuelan sources report heavy drug movement through Venezuela and large domestic seizures but stop short of providing a vetted proportion of U.S. seizures attributable to Venezuelan-origin supply [4] [5] [6].
2. What U.S. and international institutions actually report
The DEA and related U.S. reporting cited in available sources emphasize Colombia as the principal origin of cocaine that reaches the United States—figures cited in media accounts say roughly 84% (DEA 2025 citation) or 90% (DEA fact-sheet referenced) of cocaine reaching the U.S. is produced in Colombia and flows via Mexico, with no significant mention of Venezuela in the breakdown for U.S. seizures [3] [1] [2]. The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime’s World Drug Report mapping shows trafficking routes and seizures for 2023–2024 but, in the material provided here, does not produce a U.S.-seizure percentage specifically attributable to Venezuela [7] [8].
3. Venezuelan and NGO accounts point to significant transit and domestic seizures — not necessarily U.S. attribution
Venezuelan authorities and local NGOs document substantial drug flows through Venezuelan territory and cite large seizure totals and concentrated interdictions along the Colombian border (for example, “over 80% of seizures in 2024 were at the Colombia border,” according to Venezuelan officials quoted by InSight Crime and other translations) [4] [5]. Independent analysts and NGOs have estimated that 200–250 metric tons of cocaine transit Venezuela annually (U.S. estimates from 2020 cited in NGO summaries), but those figures relate to transit volume and internal seizures, not to the share of cocaine seized on U.S. soil that is traceable back to Venezuela [6] [4].
4. Why those different emphases matter — method and attribution challenges
Tracing the origin of seized cocaine is methodologically hard: production source, trafficking corridor, and point of interdiction can diverge. U.S. seizure statistics often focus on country of production (Colombia, Peru, Bolivia) and transit routes (Mexico/Central America) rather than registering every parcel that may have transited through Venezuela en route to the U.S., and major U.S. reports cited here do not list Venezuela as a primary origin for U.S. seizures [1] [3]. Venezuela-based reporting stresses border interdictions and transit volume, which indicate important regional dynamics but do not equate to a share-of-U.S-seizures figure [4] [5] [6].
5. Competing narratives and their possible agendas
U.S. government documents and many international organizations frame cocaine reaching the United States as overwhelmingly sourced from Colombia and transiting through Mexico/Central America; that line supports policy priorities focused on Colombia, Mexico, and Central America [1] [2]. Venezuelan authorities and exile-NGO reports emphasize drug movements through Venezuelan territory and large domestic seizures; those narratives can serve to justify internal security measures or to highlight Venezuela’s role in regional trafficking [4] [5] [6]. Media outlets citing DEA summaries or U.S. briefings emphasize low visibility of Venezuela in U.S. seizure statistics—an argument used to question U.S. claims that Venezuela is a principal source for drugs reaching the United States [3] [1].
6. What can be concluded, and what remains unknown
Conclusion supported by available sources: most cocaine reaching the United States is traced to Colombia (cited at roughly 84–90% in the provided reporting), and the DEA/official U.S. materials referenced do not list Venezuela as a major source of U.S.-seized cocaine [3] [1] [2]. What is not provided in these sources: a verified percentage specifically stating “X% of cocaine seized in the U.S. in 2024–2025 was traced to Venezuela.” That exact statistic is not found in the supplied reporting (not found in current reporting).
If you want, I can: (a) search the primary DEA/State Department 2024–2025 public reports and UNODC datasets to try to find any attribution tables that break U.S. seizures by country of last transit or origin, or (b) assemble a timeline of public claims and counterclaims about Venezuela’s role with full citations. Which would you prefer?